[3.5-3.19]

Big news: thanks to our friend Farley, who’s part of the Loft crew, the studio’s amps have been majorly upgraded. He stopped by a few weeks ago to help install 2 Mark Levinson 23s’s that he’s donated to the studio on long-term loan. KG told me that they are “like a massive energy storage tank, allowing the speakers to respond more quickly and cleanly to signal.” That’s what you want in an amp: something that takes sound input and transmits it seamlessly and powerfully through the speakers to your ears. Jesse built some new racks, and KG, Benji, Vin, and Greg rewired the entire soundsystem so that nothing’s gonna get in the way of the magnificent signal these amps produce.

I heard the new setup in action last week, as Ka Baird sliced two microphones through the air, triggering a heavy whoosh-thwack, like an arrow hitting a target in a movie. It met a constant yearning I’ve had for glossy, punchy-finish low end since the first time I heard a SOPHIE track, and which has gone unfulfilled since her death in 2021. I crave these sounds because they are almost lasciviously satisfying in their density and velocity. Packed seed bombs that burst open and multiply as a composition progresses, or a rubber band snapping through your whole body. And damn do they hit hard on these amps. Thank you Farley!

3.5 | Eric Frye, Muein, Dilian, Grant Chapman

All of these artists make music that’s pretty sound design-y, full of details and twists that the amps will really enliven (this is an amps newsletter now, fyi, you’ll get it once you hear them). Eric Frye and Muein are friends of 29 Speedway, those great curators of weird earworms. Dilian likes to get hype and choppy. Grant Chapman is on the dreamier end—a full spectrum for your Wednesday.

3.6 | David First will Present Sounds

This is the first night of a three-part residency based on sounds that David conjured from the resonant frequencies of the studio. His transmutation of the room into an instrument that cycles endlessly through itself will land somewhere between musical art and physical therapy, acoustical phenomena research and consciousness navigation.

3.7 | Friendship / Spaceship

Board a flying saucer handpan and slide down a fretless bass into an electric cosmic lake. Swim through space wrapped in ethereal dance and song. A sonic light voyage vibrating on the frequencies of love and friendship.

3.8 | Testu Collective Presents: Sublime Frequencies 3

The third edition of Sublime focuses on artists the collective fell in love with during Covid times—and there are quite a few, leading listeners through cinematic soundscapes (Kamran Sadeghi), meditative sacred resonances (C. Lavender), and microscopic sound worlds (Maria Takeuch). That last one features visuals from Dan Tesene, and it all happens under video projections onto staggered vellum screens. Post-Geography DJs the set breaks with his own vast landscapes.

3.9 | Max In the World & Kroba

Our clocks spring forward into abundant daylight at midnight on the 9th, and on the first day of this altered (and let’s be honest, much better) timescape, Max In The World & Kroba will perform a one-hour live set of spacious electronics and live saxophone to coincide with the movement of the sun toward the horizon. They will be joined by DJ and producer Eden Aurelius, who will share favorites from her deep collection before and after the performance.

3.12 | dance practice

This session of free movement begins with an ancestor activation with Summer Minerva to honor the felt but unseen forces that surround us and the memories of distant relatives held within the cells of our bodies. Group embodiment transitions into a DJ set with Inanna, who like Summer brings a witchy mysticism to their work. All levels of dance experience welcome.

3.15 Amen, Anito!

This film screening is an immersive listening experience for the debut visual album by Filipino-American artist Anito Soul, a meditation on land relations, spirituality, and what it means to be a balikbayan, a term referring to both shipping boxes and Filipinos returning home after spending time abroad. Fellow Fil-Am artists Florence Cecile and WILHELMINA DJ before and after the screening, which also includes a talkback and Q&A, and Filipino food to enjoy.

3.17 | Community Acupuncture

It’s been beautiful to see this night grow into its own community within the studio, always remaining welcoming for new visitors. Alison Roehs of Modern Tonic Acupuncture sets up for an evening of healing and relaxation, with ambient soundscapes and hot tea for the post-needle comedown.

3.19 | GOOD GRIEF: BLESSTHISMESS

The next episode of Drew Litowitz and Rafa’s deep listening sessions brings three live acts of mind-massaging discordance and harmony. One is a rare live performance by All Light Hits U, a project from Ben Paulson and Tommy Paslaski of Purelink (which grew from this collaboration), with accompaniment from Chicago based saxophonist Don Lyons. Prolific ambient glitch and acoustic voyager More Eaze weaves listeners through everything from ambient pop to folk and musique concrete. Tectonic sound shifter Jalpari, who improvises layers of electronic improvisation and experimental string textures, rounds out the night

-ZB